Article Too Holy To Be Righteous Exodus 19:3-9; Luke 18:9-12

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9, NASB).

The church of Jesus Christ is made up of a holy people. In faith, character, and behavior the disciples of Jesus Christ are holy. They are a sanctified people; a consecrated people; and a dedicated people set aside to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9, NASB). Since they live in the light that God gives, they too like God are called to be righteous because God Himself is righteous. God is just. God obeys the Law. The Law is God’s own Law that stems from God’s attributes and His purpose. Thus, the people of God are not to be in the business of condemning people and excluding them from the grace of God. Yet, in my own mind that is what I see too many Christians and Christian churches doing. Christians today are too holy to be righteous. This article gives us a glimpse of this truth.

Let us begin by giving a definition of the word “righteous” and a definition of the word “holy.” The word righteous means to be just, to be lawful. How do we determine what is just and what is lawful? Do we go by the trends in society? Do the standards of just and righteous change because society believes that there is a need to change? The answer to these questions is a resounding no. God is immutable, meaning that God does not change. God is eternal; and therefore God’s standards for righteousness and justice do not change. We will return to his conviction. Let us now look at the word holy.

The word “holy” means to be sanctified, dedicated, consecrated, and hallowed. A person and a thing are holy because God declares it to be holy, and God is present. A person and a thing are set aside by the Lord to be sacred. People build monuments, but people do not have the ability to make something holy unto the Lord. With these brief definitions in mind, I want to return to the original thought for this article. In today’s church, there are people too holy to be righteous. We hope to show that this fact is possibly the greatest hindrance to the growth and survival of the church.

In Genesis 7:1 we see the first reference in the bible to the word “righteous.” The Lord has determined that the world is wicked. He will destroy the world by causing a flood. Everyone and everything will perish (Gen. 6:1-7). “The LORD said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I made them” (6:7, NASB). God finds one person who is an exception to this verdict. “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD” (v. 8). In Genesis 6:13-22 the Lord offers mercy to Noah. Noah is given grace that is Noah is given a chance to live. Noah has not earned this favor from the Lord. Rather, this grace comes because grace is one of the attributes of God. God offers Noah grace because it is God’s nature to grant grace. Likewise, Noah is given mercy. He will not receive the punishment that he deserves because, again, mercy is an attribute of God. Mercy is offered to Noah because it is God’s nature to offer mercy.

From this account we can see that God makes a distinction between that which He accepts and that which He rejects. God grants grace and mercy to Noah. In return God expects something from Noah. “Then the LORD said to Noah, ‘Enter the ark, you and all your household, for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time’” (7:1, NASB). In this statement the Lord declares Noah to be righteous. Noah is right with the Lord because he has demonstrated His faith in the Lord by obeying the Lord’s instructions to build the ark. “Thus Noah did; and according to all that God had commanded him, so he did” (6:22). We can see that God calls His people to be righteous. Now, we turn to the word “holy.”

We first encounter the word “holy” in the bible is Exodus 3:5. Moses sees a burning bush that does not burn out. Moses approaches the bush to investigate this phenomenon (Ex. 3:1-3). As Moses gets closer to the bush he hears a voice calling his name (v. 4). “Then He said, ‘Do not come near here; remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground’” (v. 5). Moses sees no change in the landscape. So then, what makes the ground holy? It is holy because it is a place that the Lord has set aside to make His presence known. It is a place where God chooses to have an encounter with human beings. It is a place where God makes Himself known to man. Does the encounter make Moses holy? Moses is still Moses, but God is calling him to be holy. He will not be like other men. He is given a task to do by the Lord. God sends Moses to Egypt to deliver His people out of Egypt. God is separating the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob from other people. God is calling them to be holy.

The children of God are free from bondage in Egypt. What does God expect from these people now free from Egypt but stuck out in a place unknown to them with a scarcity of food and water? Moses goes up to God and the Lord offers a covenant to the people and they accept the covenant (Ex. 19:4-17). Let us look at the Lord’s defining word for His people. “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (vv. 5-6).

When we read this statement of God let us not fail to see the vocation of the nation. They are to be a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” What is a priest? A priest is someone that makes God known to the people. A priest intercedes to the Lord on behalf of the people. A priest does everything that the Lord requires of him in order that the priest can be a qualified mediator between God and people. Thus God is calling these sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to be set aside and dedicated to the mission of making God known to all the other people in the world. These other people are also God’s people. There are some people that are too holy to be righteous? Let’s more specifically examine this truth.

Those of us that call ourselves Christians are to remember that we have been saved from our sins by the grace and mercy of God. There is nothing special about us except that God chooses us for His own purpose. First, Christians must know who we are in the purpose of God. Then, we must know what God expects from us we He calls us to salvation. Peter, in his first epistle gives us a description.

In 1 Peter 1 the writer reminds us of how we are saved. We are saved by the precious blood of Jesus by those who preached the gospel sent by the Holy Spirit (1:12). Those who believe the gospel are to live according to the ways of God (v. 13). Peter writes, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance, but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in your behavior; because it is written ‘You shall be holy for I am holy’” (1:14-15, NASB). Further, Peter tells us who we are in terms of how we are to behave towards all of God’s people; those that are saved and those that are not yet saved. “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 1:9, NASB).

The purpose of a Christian is not to find fault and condemn people. The purpose of our holy living is not to make ourselves look good in order to expose the shortcomings of others. Christians are not better than other people. Paul writes, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. For God who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give knowledge of the glory of God in face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves” (2 Cor. 4:5-7, NASB).

In conclusion let us stop finding fault in people. Let us stop finding ways to condemn others. Jesus is the door to salvation (Jn. 10:7-9). There is a lot of fault finding among Christians. The churches are not welcoming to those that do not meet their ideas. The church should be a place for the “whosoever.” The “whosoever” are all people. The church is a place where all people can come and receive the grace and mercy of God. Those that enter the church should experience not rejection and exclusion. Rather, the church is an organism of Jesus Christ that demonstrates God’s love to all people through acceptance and inclusion in the place where God has placed His name. It is the place where lost people can discover the Light of God, hear the Gospel, and be given a chance to choose Jesus Christ as their savior.